The Tom Brady-Aaron Rodgers matchup was a big draw, as expected, topping the ratings charts in an impressive Week 9 of the NFL season.
Packers-Patriots earned a 15.6 overnight rating on NBC’s Sunday Night Football last night, up 63% from last year (Raiders-Dolphins: 9.6), up a third from 2016 (Broncos-Raiders: 11.7), and the highest Week 9 SNF overnight on record. The previous high was a 15.1 for a 2006 Colts-Patriots game.
Regardless of week, the 15.6 is the highest for any primetime NFL game since Week 1 of last season (Giants-Cowboys: 15.8).
The Patriots’ win, which peaked with a 16.2 from 9:30-10 PM ET, delivered the second-highest NFL overnight of the season. The Week 1 national window on FOX, which featured Cowboys-Panthers, holds the top spot (15.7).
Sunday’s game marked the second career meeting between Patriots QB Tom Brady and Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Their previous matchup, which aired on CBS in 2014, had a 19.2 overnight.
In other Week 9 action, FOX earned a 15.2 for Rams-Saints in the national window, per Sports Business Daily reporter Austin Karp — up 7% from Chiefs-Cowboys last year (14.2) and up 19% from 2016 (mostly Colts-Packers: 12.8). Those games aired on CBS. The 15.2 is the highest for the national window in Week 9 since 2015 (Broncos-Colts: 16.1).
As for the early windows, CBS scored a 10.1 for the Week 9 singleheader — up 5% from last year (mostly Falcons-Panthers: 9.6), but down 19% from 2016 (mostly Cowboys-Browns: 12.4). Those games aired on FOX.
The early doubleheader window on FOX, featuring Atlanta-Washington in 61% of markets, had a 9.2 — even with last year and up 18% from 2016 (7.8).
[Numbers from NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Austin Karp/Twitter 11.5, Sports Business Daily 11.5]
